300 Onions

In the very center of the garden, we have 300 onions planted on 3 1/2 rows.  It is a mix of White Onions, Texas 1015 Sweet Onions, Red Creole Onions and Yellow Granex Onions.  We ordered the onion sets from Dixondale Farms in Carizzo Springs, Texas and planted them in early January, following the planting, fertilizing, and watering instructions recommended by Dixondale.  The onions have enjoyed perfect growing conditions and have grown steadily since planting.

The onions will tell you when they are ready to be pulled.  You just have to listen.  When the onion plant bends over at a 90 degree angle at the neck (like the white onion in the center of the photo below), it's time to pull them.

The onions were planted four inches apart and over the last 4 or so months, they've grown, filling in the space between plants such that the onion bulb of each plant almost touches one another.

The size of this year's crop is nice.  Not overwhelmingly large, but not small by any measure.  The onion fills the palm of your hand easily.

The yellow onions are a nice size as well.

The red creole onions are always a little smaller than the other two.

As I pull up the onions that have fallen over, I brush the dirt out of the roots and place them in a big basket that I use when harvesting.

Then I carry them to an open spot in the garden between the onions and the okra.  The onions are laid out in a staggered arrangement.  This starts the curing process.  I'll talk more about that in a post later on.

Needless to say, we've stopped purchasing onions from the grocery store!  The onions aren't cured yet, and that's an important process.  Last year we had great success in having our onion crop store for months and months.  We're hoping for similar success in 2023.